Tejashwi Yadav moves SC seeking transfer of defamation case, informs Ahmedabad court
Ahmedabad (PTI): Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Saturday informed a trial court here that he has moved the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the criminal defamation case against him and the matter is likely to be taken up on November 6.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader, through his lawyer, sought exemption from appearance in the court of additional metropolitan magistrate DJ Parmar, which had summoned him on September 22 in a criminal defamation case for his alleged remark "only Gujaratis can be thugs".
The court adjourned the case and posted it for hearing on December 2.
The lawyer for complainant Haresh Mehta had argued that since the matter has not been taken up by the apex court yet and no direction has been passed, the trial court must continue hearing the case in Yadav's absence.
Among the grounds for exemption presented before the court on Saturday was Yadav's official engagement on the day and the fact that he has filed a petition under section 406 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the case.
As per the case status obtained from the website of the Supreme Court, the said transfer petition is tentatively listed on November 6, the RJD leader said.
In the exemption application, Yadav said he is a law-abiding citizen and deputy chief minister of Bihar and ordinarily resided at his official address in Patna.
"Hence, the applicant-accused has not been able to attend the further proceedings before this court owing to pressing and urgent official commitments, which involve overseeing important projects for the welfare of the general public, which is necessary in view of the forthcoming religious festivities in the state," the application stated.
Yadav further stated that his transfer petition before the apex court is likely to be taken up on November 6, and sought that further proceedings be conducted in the presence of his lawyer and no objection be taken in this regard.
The court had conducted an inquiry against Yadav under section 202 of the CrPC and found sufficient grounds to summon him based on a complaint filed by Mehta, a 69-year-old social worker and businessman from Ahmedabad.
Mehta had filed his complaint in court along with the proof of Yadav's statement made before the media in Patna on March 21 this year.
"Only Gujaratis can be thugs in the present situation, and their fraud (crime) will be forgiven. Who will be responsible if they abscond after they are offered the money belonging to the LIC and bank?" Yadav had said.
The complainant claimed that the statement was made in public and calling the entire Gujarati community "thugs" defames and humiliates all Gujaratis in public.
A "thug" is a rogue, sly and criminal person, and such a comparison with the entire community will cause people to look at Gujaratis with suspicion, he said, while seeking maximum punishment for Yadav.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
